Wednesday 18 November 2020

Cold Hell/Corrosion - Exposure/Three Step Program Split 7"


Labels: Agnostic About Violence/Starving Light Collective/Suspected Of Arson Records/Iron Coffin

Formats: Vinyl/Tape/Digital

Release Date: 10 Jul 2020


Tracklist:


1. Cold Hell - Third Weapon

2. Cold Hell - Pray

3. Cold Hell - Life Of Exposure

4. Cold Hell - Half Life

5. Cold Hell - Dead Contact

6. Corrosion - Three Strep Program

7. Corrosion - Addict


As a fairly big American pop-punk/hardcore band once said, 'I'm right back at it again' (no prizes for guessing who I mean). I'm in my happy place about to jam some new powerviolence/sludgy hardcore from Finland in the from of this split 7" featuring Cold Hell and Corrosion. A copy was kindly sent to me by new Finnish label Starving Light Collective, who released this EP alongside compatriot labels Agnostic About Violence and Suspected Of Arson Records. A limited run of tapes was also released via Iron Coffin. Both bands are from Tampere.


I don’t expect the Cold Hell side to last very long at all. Their opener ‘Third Weapon’ gives it away right off the bat with screeching feedback, followed by the warm embrace of raging PV tempos and slow heavy riffs that break them up. The percussion and guitars take no prisoners, while the vocals and slower passages are akin to the UK’s Famine in terms of quality.


‘Pray’ follows immediately and it’s really where Cold Hell’s raw but infectious sound comes into it’s own. This bass-heavy song is absolutely bonkers. There’s a hint of crust/d-beat in here as well, as the drumming at the beginning of ‘Life Of Exposure’ demonstrates, while the mix of deep and high growled vocals pierce the instrumentation with ease.


Despite the very brief pauses between songs, this is everything you want from powerviolence and the thick riffs of Cold Hell’s penultimate song ‘Half Life’ show just how gruesome and disturbing this band can be. Their closing blast ‘Dead Contact’ is just that, a blast that’s intertwined with off-kilter punk. It’s loud, aggressive and spot on!


Corrosion’s side is equally as in-your-face but with much more rawness and general chaos thrown in on their  title-track ‘Three Step Program’, which is certainly more sludgy than it is fast. If it’s one thing Finland has been doing well of late, it’s sludge.


Their second song ‘Addict’ is plain and simply a slab of ridiculously noisy hardcore-punk, which could be as party starting as it is knuckle dragging. It’s bass-heavy again but this time the low-end buzzes, as the vocals rest on top, almost screeching at times. Again, it’s eminently listenable if you like things more rough and ready. Goddamn this stuff is good!


I think that both Cold Hell and Corrosion really compliment each other on this split. Cold Hell’s powerviolence has reminded of me why I love the sub-genre so much, while Corrosion’s sludgy noise typifies everything I love about Finnish bands. If you’re a fan of both fast and slow music, this EP will sate your hunger. 


You can stream and download both sides digitally via the bandcamp pages of Cold Hell and Corrosion respectively, below:-




Cold Hell - https://www.facebook.com/ColdHellPowerviolence/

Corrosion - https://www.facebook.com/corrosion931/


You can grab physical copies from the labels below:-


Starving Light Collective - contact starvinglight[AT]gmail[DOT]com / https://www.facebook.com/starvinglight/ 

Suspected Of Arson Records - https://www.facebook.com/tulikuljekanssani/

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